


shame on me

by remi_wolf



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Battle of the Great Bridge of Myrddin (Fire Emblem), Fire Emblem: Three Houses Golden Deer Route, Fire Emblem: Three Houses Golden Deer Route Spoilers, Gen, Hurt No Comfort, I think?, Misunderstandings, Nonbinary My Unit | Byleth, Prisoner of War, Whumptober 2020, and also this might be a GD AU route, broken trust, i don't actually know if Lorenz is on your side or not at Myrddin, i guess you could read it that way, this really isn't platonic but if you really wanna
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-12
Updated: 2020-10-12
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:54:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26985502
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/remi_wolf/pseuds/remi_wolf
Summary: Throughout the war, Lorenz and Khalid exchanged letters. They were, after all, very close, and time and distance didn't seem to diminish that whatsoever. Lorenz, though, never came to Claude's side, not when he asked, not when they were supposed to meet at the Monastery. Khalid tried not to let it hurt, but it did. Imagine his surprise when he finds out that Lorenz told the Empire their plans to re-take the Bridge of Myrddin.Whumptober 2020: Day 12. Prompt: Broken Trust.
Relationships: Lorenz Hellman Gloucester & Claude von Riegan, Lorenz Hellman Gloucester/Claude von Riegan
Kudos: 11
Collections: Beguilements and Distractions, Remi's Whumptober Collection for 2020, Whumptober 2020





	shame on me

**Author's Note:**

> so....as i look at the wiki(s), apparently Lorenz doesn't "betray" Claude at all. unfortunate that i didn't know that until i finished. Whatever, slight AU, but yeah! anyways! the Empire's intercepting Lorenz and Claude's letters, and Lorenz doesn't realize it until it's too late, and so now Claude thinks he betrayed him! Fun!  
> Also, I tend to almost exclusively use Khalid for Claude now, at least in his personal narration and thoughts, because there's no way he'd think of himself with his fake name, in my opinion.

_We’ll be making our way to Myrddin. I hope to see you at the bridge. We could use your skill, my darling rose._

The words kept playing in Khalid’s head, over and over again. The final words in the last letter he had written to Lorenz before they began their march southeast. He stared at Lorenz on his horse on the bridge, so clearly aligned with the Empire, and he felt as though his heart had been ripped out of his chest, though he had no idea why it felt that way. Or he did, but this was yet another case of broken trust. He had faced this countless times before. Really, he had practically had this same exact situation happen when he was younger, but for some reason, he had thought that he could trust Lorenz to not use this against them. No wonder they hadn’t encountered any resistance on the way to the bridge. Lorenz had told the Empire exactly where they were going. He wasn’t his friend. 

“Claude?”

Khalid blinked, forcing himself back to the present before he looked over at the Professor, nodding for a moment. “I’m going to intercept Lorenz. I’m fine.”

“The main keep has a half-dozen archers. Get there to deal with them—”

“I’m on wyvern-back. I’ll go with you.”

“No.”

Khalid blinked as he looked at Byleth, shaking his head more insistently, shifting in his saddle. “What are you talking about? Sending someone flying over to archers is a stupid decision.”

“Then get off your wyvern and run.”

“But—”

“Do it, Claude!” 

Khalid stared at them for a moment before sliding off his saddle, a quiver strapped to his thigh and bow in hand as he started running, watching as Byleth ran the opposite direction, towards Lorenz, while they barked off further orders to the others. And Claude was sent, practically alone, to deal with this stupid keep rather than tie up loose ends with Lornez. 

* * *

The battle ended shortly, and Khalid practically collapsed on the stone of the bridge, trying to ignore the stench of blood still thick in the air, even as he recognized the need to re-group with the others. Just a few moments, and then he could—

“Khalid?”

Khalid froze, eyes snapping open as he heard the voice, and before he could properly recognize what he was doing, he had a knife in hand and Lornez on the ground. Flames, he looked beautiful, even grimy after a battle and terror written on his face. This wasn’t fair, and Khalid could feel his heart choked in his throat as he kept the blade against Lorenz’s throat. 

“Khalid..."

“You have no right to call me that, Lorenz.” Did the Empire know about his identity? He knew he had been looser in his letters than he should have been with Lorenz, but this hurt. He felt as though he was choking on glass, trying to get it past his throat in the vain hope that it wouldn’t hurt as much if it was deep in his gut instead of so fresh. 

“You...please understand—”

“Understand what? You sold us out to the Empire. Your own people. What happened to—”

“You don’t understand what happened at all! You cannot act as though you possibly know what I have gone through, living on the very southern border of the Empire. The only noble family closer to the Empire in the Alliance is Acheron’s, and they are technically under our command. You cannot believe—”

“And you’re under mine!” Khalid couldn’t help but snap at Lorenz, trying to put pressure on the knife, to ensure that he would never have Lorenz break his trust again, but he couldn’t quite manage it, not sure if it was because he couldn’t bear to lose Lorenz, even if he already had, or because it would disappoint Teach, who clearly saved them for a reason.

Lorenz didn’t move, didn’t look at the knife or shifted, even if a thin line of blood welled up along his pale throat, and he closed his eyes. “I tried to warn you, Khalid. I do believe I said that the Empire was too close and that it wasn’t safe for you to talk to me.”

“Does the Empire know who I am?”

“Khalid, please.”

“Do they know!”

Lorenz swallowed, shifting for a moment as he opened his eyes to look at Khalid, and he shrugged. “They know I was talking to a man named Khalid who is high in the ranks of the Alliance based on the information you insisted upon giving me—”

“I thought you were on my side.”

“I was in a delicate position. Ferdinand—”

“I’m sure you loved having Ferdinand around.”

Lorenz huffed, rolling his eyes before moving. Khalid gasped as he felt a knee just below his ribs, kicking him hard enough that he ended up in a ball next to Lorenz, gasping for breath as he tried to get his muscles to stop spasming. 

“I enjoyed having my friend close, yes. However, I did not appreciate being a practical prisoner in my own household.” Lorenz, that bastard, barely even sounded out of breath as he spoke, and Khalid could hear the quiet scrape of metal boots on the stone ground under the both of them.

“You should have said something. We would have—”

“What would you have done, Khalid? Spirited me away in the middle of the night? Risk my father’s death and the destruction of my people’s land? You would have done something rash that you rationalized as being thought-out. It would have ended poorly for everyone involved.” Lorenz sniffed before brushing himself off, as though it would help keep the grime off of worn armor and he took a deep breath. Khalid stared up at him, trying to reconcile the want to have him close with the ache still scraping against his gut, and he laid back finally, not even attempting to get up. It hurt too much, and he hurt too much, and he didn’t want to deal with any of this as he laid there until someone could help him to his feet and onto a horse or cart. 

“You’re not going to be on the council, Lorenz.” Khalid just barely managed the words past the hurt in his body, and his injuries, and he shifted before finally forcing himself to sit up and he took a deep breath. “You’re not on the council. You’re just another officer, another captain of a battalion, and a tool for Teach. I refuse to let you have any say in our plans at all.”

“Khalid.”

“Shut. Up. You will never use that name for me again.”

Khalid glanced up in time to see the stricken expression on Lorenz’s face before looking away again, trying to force himself to breathe past the ache in his chest.


End file.
